Enrollment plummets at College of Marin

Enrollment at College of Marin has plummeted to the lowest level in at least a decade as students face cuts to course offerings, higher fees and a more difficult financial aid environment, officials said Tuesday.

Enrollment dropped to 6,620 students this semester, down 9.8 percent from 7,337 students in the spring semester of 2012, mirroring drops in enrollment statewide.

The enrollment dropped as the college, facing budget pressure, cut 19 courses from the schedule compared with spring 2012, continuing a trend that has shrunk the course catalogue by about 50 classes, or 6 percent in the past three years.

Such cuts, which have happened across the state, have made it harder for students to find classes, pushing some of them out of school.

"I don't know how many people who have been totally disenfranchised just because they weren't able to get in, and that's something that we really hadn't experienced before as a system," said Cari Torres, interim dean of instruction for College of Marin.

Spring enrollment figures for California were not yet available Tuesday, but as of this fall statewide enrollment had dropped by nearly 500,000 students over four years and courses were cut by nearly 25 percent, according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office.

While College of Marin has fared better than many of its peers in California, its revenues have suffered from stagnant property values. The college began the school year with a $2.2 million deficit in a $70.1 million budget. Officials are working to cut several million dollars in the next few years.

Lance Reyes, a third-year engineering student who serves as president of College of Marin Associated Students, said he has not had difficulties enrolling in classes but many of his classmates have.

"I know the school is doing the best they can," he said. "But at some point, there are just too many students vying for the same class."

Students have also been hit with huge fee increases across the state. The annual cost for a full-time student is at least $1,104, well over double the cost of $480 four years ago.

"To some people that might seem like a little bit of money, but there is a good population of people who that is a lot of money to," said Scott Blood, a political science student and the student representative on the College of Marin Board of Trustees. "It could be prohibitive to a lot of people, and I think we might forget that."

In addition to the fee increases, students seeking financial aid have been hit with changes, including higher academic targets for students receiving federal Pell grants. At College of Marin, some 586 students were denied financial aid this semester because of poor grades, officials said.

"Five years ago financial aid applicants represented about 20 percent of our student population," financial aid director David Cook said in a statement. "Now they represent close to 80 percent of our student population."